Rocketships and Teaparties

My youngest is a child with an enlightening dichotomy of interests. She actively wants to build rockships with her legos and entertain with her Dora teaparty set. Amazing! I remember when I was little I was spent most of my time on skateboards but I always had that special pink party dress that I had to wear on every special occasion. She is a chip off the chipper young block - the saying as it pertains to old is not me .

We went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the weekend (the place with those awesome stairs that Sylvester Stallone ran up in the original Rocky movie). One of the exhibits was set up as if it was a Spanish courtyard and at its center sat a functioning water fountain. Now a curious tradition that I have noticed which Americans have is that wherever there is a standing body of water in a decorative enclosure, they throw money ala wishing well. (Can you imagine how many diving Jamaicans there would be if that tradition existed ah yard?) My children brought their own coins so suffice to say they threw hard earned money into the fountain and made wishes.

My oldest knows the drill, she wished quietly to herself. My youngest was thrilled to be able to participate in the tradition on her own for the first time. She grinned and tossed her money in the fountain and with surprising reverence for the surroundings she whispered, " I wish I could be an Astronaut and fly a real rocketship!" This wish floored me! I suddenly thought that maybe this is how life's ambitions start. Wow!! Should I be looking into science programs, trying to build her math abilities, showing her what little physics I know, thinking about flying lessons when she's older? Will this ambition change? Is it one of many she will have? One thing is for sure I have to start speaking about college more in this house for whatever she wants to be I intend to be able to facilitate it.